Doc/comboot

The content of doc/comboot.txt (release 3.72 4.07, with minor corrections):

COMBOOT and COM32 files

Syslinux supports simple standalone programs, using a file format similar to DOS ".com" files. A 32-bit version, called COM32, is also provided. A simple API provides access to a limited set of filesystem and console functions.

COMBOOT file format

A COMBOOT file is a raw binary file containing 16-bit code. It should be linked to run at offset 0x100, and contain no absolute segment references. It is run in 16-bit real mode.

A COMBOOT image can be written to be compatible with MS-DOS. Such a file will usually have extension ".com". A COMBOOT file which is not compatible with MS-DOS will usually have extension ".cbt".

Before running the program, Syslinux sets up the following fields in the Program Segment Prefix (PSP), a structure at offset 0 in the program segment:

Offset Size Meaning 0 word Contains an INT 20h instruction 2 word Contains the paragraph (16-byte "segment" address) at the end of memory available to the program. 128 byte Length of the command line arguments, including the leading space but not including the final CR character. 129 127b Command line arguments, starting with a space and ending with a CR character (ASCII 13).

The program is allowed to use memory between the PSP paragraph (which all the CS, DS, ES and SS registers point to at program start) and the paragraph value given at offset 2.

On startup, SP is set up to point to the end of the 64K segment, at 0xfffe. Under DOS it is possible for SP to contain a smaller value if memory is very tight; this is never the case under Syslinux.

The program should make no assumptions about what segment address it will be loaded at; instead it should look at the segment registers on program startup. Both DOS and Syslinux will guarantee CS == DS == ES == SS on program start; the program should not assume anything about the values of FS or GS.

To exit, a program can either execute a near RET (which will jump to offset 0 which contains an INT 20h instruction, terminating the program), or execute INT 20h or INT 21h AH=00h or INT 21h AH=4Ch. If compatibility with Syslinux 1.xx is desired, use INT 20h.

COM32R file format

A COM32R file is a raw binary file containing 32-bit code. It should be linked to run at address 0x101000, and should not contain any segment references. self-relocating, as it will be loaded by the Syslinux core at any 4K aligned address. It will be run in flat-memory 32-bit protected mode. Under Syslinux, it will be run in CPL 0, however, since it may be possible to create a COM32 execution engine that would run under something like Linux DOSEMU, it is recommended that the code does not assume CPL 0 unless absolutely necessary.

It is highly recommended that every COM32 program begins with the byte sequence B8 FF 4C CD 21 (mov eax,21cd4cffh) as a magic number.

A COM32R program must start with the byte sequence B8 FE 4C CD 21 (mov eax,21cd4cfeh) as a magic number.

The COM32R format replaces the earlier COM32 format, which was linked to a fixed address (0x101000).

A COM32R file should have extension ".c32".

On startup, CS will be set up as a flat 32-bit code segment, and DS == ES == SS will be set up as the equivalent flat 32-bit data segment. FS and GS are reserved for future use and are currently initialized to zero. A COM32R image should not assume any particular values of segment selectors.

ESP is set up at the end of available memory and also serves as notification to the program how much memory is available.

The following arguments are passed to the program on the stack:

Address Size Meaning [ESP] dword Return (termination) address [ESP+4] dword Number of additional arguments (currently 5 8) [ESP+8] dword Pointer to the command line arguments (null-terminated string) [ESP+12] dword Pointer to INT call helper function [ESP+16] dword Pointer to low memory bounce buffer [ESP+20] dword Size of low memory bounce buffer [ESP+24] dword Pointer to FAR call helper function (new in 2.05) [ESP+28] dword Pointer to CDECL helper function (new in 3.54) [ESP+32] dword Amount of memory controlled by the Syslinux core (new in 3.74) [ESP+36] dword Pointer to the filename of the com32 module (new in 3.86) [ESP+40] dword Pointer to protected-mode functions (new in 4.00)

This corresponds to the following C prototype, available in the file com32/include/com32.h:

/* The standard prototype for _start() */ int _start(unsigned int __nargs, char *__cmdline, void (*__intcall)(uint8_t, com32sys_t *, com32sys_t *), void *__bounce_ptr, unsigned int __bounce_len, void (*__farcall)(uint32_t, com32sys_t *, com32sys_t *), int (*__cfarcall)(uint32_t, void *, size_t) );

The libcom32 startup code loads this into a structure named __com32, defined in <com32.h>:

extern struct com32_sys_args { uint32_t cs_sysargs; char *cs_cmdline; void __cdecl(*cs_intcall)(uint8_t, const com32sys_t *, com32sys_t *); void *cs_bounce; uint32_t cs_bounce_size; void __cdecl(*cs_farcall)(uint32_t, const com32sys_t *, com32sys_t *); int __cdecl(*cs_cfarcall)(uint32_t, const void *, uint32_t); uint32_t cs_memsize; const char *cs_name; const struct com32_pmapi *cs_pm; } __com32;

The intcall helper function can be used to issue BIOS or Syslinux API calls, and takes the interrupt number as first argument. The second argument is a pointer to the input register definition, an instance of the following structure (available in <com32.h>):

typedef union { uint32_t l; uint16_t w[2]; uint8_t b[4]; } reg32_t; typedef struct { uint16_t gs; /* Offset 0 */ uint16_t fs; /* Offset 2 */ uint16_t es; /* Offset 4 */ uint16_t ds; /* Offset 6 */ reg32_t edi; /* Offset 8 */ reg32_t esi; /* Offset 12 */ reg32_t ebp; /* Offset 16 */ reg32_t _unused_esp; /* Offset 20 */ reg32_t ebx; /* Offset 24 */ reg32_t edx; /* Offset 28 */ reg32_t ecx; /* Offset 32 */ reg32_t eax; /* Offset 36 */ reg32_t eflags; /* Offset 40 */ } com32sys_t;

The third argument is a pointer to the output register definition, an instance of the same structure. The third argument can also be zero (NULL).

Since BIOS or Syslinux API calls can generally only manipulate data below address 0x100000, a "bounce buffer" in low memory, at least 64K in size, is available, to copy data in and out.

The farcall helper function behaves similarly, but takes as its first argument the CS:IP (in the form (CS << 16) + IP) of procedure to be invoked via a FAR CALL.

The cfarcall helper function takes (CS << 16)+IP, a pointer to a stack frame, a size of that stack frame, and returns the return value of EAX (which may need to be appropriately truncated by the user).

Starting in version 4.00, some of these API calls are available as protected-mode function calls, using the regparm(3) calling convention (the first three arguments in EAX, EDX, ECX; the rest on the stack). Those functions are defined in struct com32_pmapi, defined in <syslinux/pmapi.h>.

SYSLINUX API calls

Syslinux provides the following API calls. Syslinux 1.xx only supported INT 20h - terminate program. "[ ]" indicates the first version of Syslinux which supported this feature (correctly).

NOTE: Most of the API functionality is still experimental. Expect to find bugs.

DOS-compatible API calls

Terminate program

INT 20h 	[1.48] Terminate program
INT 21h AH=00h	[2.00] Terminate program
INT 21h AH=4Ch	[2.00] Terminate program

All of these terminate the program.

Get Key with Echo

INT 21h AH=01h	[2.01] Get Key with Echo

Reads a key from the console input, with echo to the console output. The read character is returned in AL. Extended characters received from the keyboard are returned as NUL (00h) + the extended character code.

Write Character

INT 21h AH=02h	[2.01] Write Character

Writes a character in DL to the console (video and serial) output.

Write Character to Serial Port

INT 21h AH=04h	[2.01] Write Character to Serial Port

Writes a character in DL to the serial console output (if enabled). If no serial port is configured, this routine does nothing.

Get Key without Echo

INT 21h AH=08h	[2.09] Get Key without Echo

Reads a key from the console input, without echoing it to the console output. The read character is returned in AL.

Write DOS String to Console

INT 21h AH=09h	[2.01] Write DOS String to Console

Writes a DOS "$-terminated" string in DS:DX to the console.

Check Keyboard

INT 21h AH=0Bh	[2.00] Check Keyboard

Returns AL=FFh if there is a keystroke waiting (which can then be read with INT 21h, AH=01h or AH=08h), otherwise AL=00h.

Check DOS Version

INT 21h AH=30h	[2.00] Check DOS Version

This function returns AX=BX=CX=DX=0, corresponding to a hypothetical "DOS 0.0", but the high parts of EAX-EBX-ECX-EDX spell "SYSLINUX":

EAX=59530000h EBX=4C530000h ECX=4E490000h EDX=58550000h

This function can thus be used to distinguish running on Syslinux from running on DOS.

SYSLINUX-specific API calls

Syslinux-specific API calls are executed using INT 22h, with a function number in AX. INT 22h is used by DOS for internal purposes; do not execute INT 22h under DOS.

DOS-compatible function INT 21h, AH=30h can be used to detect if the Syslinux API calls are available.

Any register not specifically listed as modified is preserved; however, future versions of Syslinux may add additional output registers to existing calls.

All calls return CF=0 on success, CF=1 on failure. The noted outputs apply if CF=0 only unless otherwise noted. All calls clobber the arithmetric flags (CF, PF, AF, ZF, SF and OF) but leave all other flags unchanged unless otherwise noted.

Get Version

AX=0001h	[2.00] Get Version

Input: AX 0001h Output: AX number of INT 22h API functions available CH Syslinux major version number CL Syslinux minor version number DL Syslinux derivative ID (e.g. 32h = PXELINUX) ES:SI Syslinux version string ES:DI Syslinux copyright string

This API call returns the Syslinux version and API information.

Note: before version 3.86, the version string had a leading CR LF and the copyright string had a leading space. The strings might still contain trailing CR and/or LF.

Write String

AX=0002h	[2.01] Write String

Input: AX 0002h ES:BX null-terminated string Output: None

Writes a null-terminated string on the console.

Run command

AX=0003h	[2.01] Run command

Input: AX 0003h ES:BX null-terminated command string Output: Does not return

This API call terminates the program and executes the command string as if the user had entered it at the Syslinux command line. This API call does not return.

Run default command

AX=0004h	[2.01] Run default command

Input: AX 0004h Output: Does not return

This API call terminates the program and executes the default command string as if the user had pressed Enter alone on the Syslinux command line. This API call does not return.

Force text mode

AX=0005h	[2.00] Force text mode

Input: AX 0005h Output: None

If the screen was in graphics mode (due to displaying a splash screen using the <Ctrl-X> command in a message file, or similar), return to text mode.

Open file

AX=0006h	[2.08] Open file

Input: AX 0006h ES:SI null-terminated filename Output: SI file handle EAX length of file in bytes, or -1 CX file block size

Open a file for reading. The exact syntax of the filenames allowed depends on the particular Syslinux derivative.

The Syslinux file system is block-oriented. The size of a block will always be a power of two and no greater than 16K.

Note: Syslinux considers a zero-length file to be nonexistent.

In 3.70 or later, EAX can contain -1 indicating that the file length is unknown.

32-BIT VERSION:

int cs_pm->open_file(const char *filename, struct com32_filedata *data) filename - null-terminated filename data - pointer to a file data buffer

Returns the file handle, or -1 on failure. The file data buffer contains block size and file size.

Read file

AX=0007h	[2.08] Read file

Input: AX 0007h SI file handle ES:BX buffer CX number of blocks to read Output: SI file handle, or 0 if EOF was reached ECX number of bytes read [3.70]

Read blocks from a file. Note that the file handle that is returned in SI may not be the same value that was passed in.

If end of file was reached (SI=0), the file was automatically closed.

In 3.70 or later, ECX returns the number of bytes read. This will always be a multiple of the block size unless EOF is reached.

The address of the buffer (ES:BX) should be at least 512-byte aligned. Syslinux guarantees at least this alignment for the COMBOOT load segment or the COM32 bounce buffer.

Keep in mind that a "file" may be a TFTP connection, and that leaving a file open for an extended period of time may result in a timeout.

WARNING: Calling this function with an invalid file handle will probably crash the system.

32-BIT VERSION:

size_t cs_pm->read_file(uint16_t *handle, void *buf, size_t blocks) handle - file handle (input and output, set to zero on end of file) buf - buffer to write to blocks - number of blocks to read

Returns number of bytes read, or 0 on failure.

Close file

AX=0008h	[2.08] Close file

Input: AX 0008h SI file handle Output: None

Close a file before reaching the end of file.

WARNING: Calling this function with an invalid file handle will probably crash the system.

32-BIT VERSION:

void cs_pm->close_file(uint16_t handle) handle - file handle to close

Call PXE Stack

AX=0009h	[2.00] Call PXE Stack [PXELINUX only]

Input: AX 0009h BX PXE function number ES:DI PXE parameter structure buffer Output: AX PXE return status code

Invoke an arbitrary PXE stack function. On SYSLINUX/ISOLINUX, this function returns with an error (CF=1) and no action is taken. On PXELINUX, this function always returns with CF=0 indicating that the PXE stack was successfully invoked; check the status code in AX and in the first word of the data buffer to determine if the PXE call succeeded or not.

The PXE stack will have the UDP stack OPEN; if you change that you cannot call any of the file-related API functions, and must restore UDP OPEN before returning to PXELINUX.

PXELINUX reserves UDP port numbers from 49152 to 65535 for its own use; port numbers below that range are available.

Get Derivative-Specific Information

AX=000Ah	[2.00] Get Derivative-Specific Information

[SYSLINUX, EXTLINUX]: Input: AX 000Ah CL 9 (to get a valid return in CL for all versions) Output: AL 31h (SYSLINUX), 34h (EXTLINUX) DL drive number CL sector size as a power of 2 (9 = 512 bytes) [3.35] CH mode [3.73] 1 = CBIOS mode 2 = EBIOS mode ES:BX pointer to partition table entry (if DL >= 80h) FS:SI pointer to initial ES:DI value [3.53] GS:DI pointer to partition offset (QWORD) [4.00]

Note: This function was broken in EXTLINUX 3.00-3.02.

On boot, ES:DI is supposed to point to the BIOS $PnP structure, although in practice most operating systems will search for it in memory. However, preserving this while chainloading is probably a good idea.

Note that FS:SI is a pointer to a memory location containing the original ES:DI value, not the value itself.

[PXELINUX]: Input: AX 000Ah Output: AL 32h (PXELINUX) DX PXE API version detected (DH=major, DL=minor) ECX Local IP number (network byte order) [3.85] ES:BX pointer to PXENV+ or !PXE structure FS:SI pointer to original stack with invocation record GS:DI pointer to network information [4.00]

Note: DX notes the API version detected by PXELINUX, which may be more conservative than the actual version available. For exact information examine the API version entry in the PXENV+ structure, or the API version entries in the ROMID structures pointed from the !PXE structure.

PXELINUX will use, and provide, the !PXE structure over the PXENV+ structure. Examine the structure signature to determine which particular structure was provided.

The FS:SI pointer points to the top of the original stack provided by the PXE stack, with the following values pushed at the time PXELINUX is started:

[fs:si+0] GS <- top of stack [fs:si+2] FS [fs:si+4] ES [fs:si+6] DS [fs:si+8] EDI [fs:si+12] ESI [fs:si+16] EBP [fs:si+20] - [fs:si+24] EBX [fs:si+28] EDX [fs:si+32] ECX [fs:si+36] EAX [fs:si+40] EFLAGS [fs:si+44] PXE return IP <- t.o.s. when PXELINUX invoked [fs:si+46] PXE return CS GS:DI points to a structure of the following form: [gs:di+0] 4 - IPv4 [gs:di+4] My IP [gs:di+8] Boot server IP [gs:di+12] Gateway IP [gs:di+16] Netmask

[ISOLINUX]: Input: AX 000Ah Output: AL 33h (ISOLINUX) DL drive number CL 11 (sector size as a power of 2) [3.35] CH mode [3.73] 0 = El Torito 1 = Hybrid (hard disk), CBIOS mode 2 = Hybrid (hard disk), EBIOS mode ES:BX pointer to El Torito spec packet FS:SI pointer to initial ES:DI value [3.53] GS:DI pointer to partition offset (QWORD) [4.00]

Note: Some very broken El Torito implementations do not provide the spec packet information. If so, ES:BX may point to all zeroes or to garbage. Call INT 13h, AX=4B01h to obtain the spec packet directly from the BIOS if necessary.

This call gives information specific to a particular Syslinux derivative. The value returned in AL is the same as is returned in DL by INT 22h AX=0001h.

Get Serial Console Configuration

AX=000Bh	[2.00] Get Serial Console Configuration

Input: AX 000Bh Output: DX serial port I/O base (e.g. 3F8h = COM1...) CX baud rate divisor (1 = 115200 bps, 2 = 57600 bps...) BX flow control configuration bits (see syslinux.txt) -> bit 15 is set if the video console is disabled

If no serial port is configured, DX will be set to 0 and the other registers are undefined.

Perform final cleanup

AX=000Ch	[2.00] Perform final cleanup

Input: AX 000Ch DX derivative-specific flags (0000h = clean up all) Output: None

This routine performs any "final cleanup" the boot loader would normally perform before loading a kernel, such as unloading the PXE stack in the case of PXELINUX. AFTER INVOKING THIS CALL, NO OTHER API CALLS MAY BE INVOKED, NOR MAY THE PROGRAM TERMINATE AND RETURN TO THE BOOT LOADER. This call basically tells the boot loader "get out of the way, I'll handle it from here."

For COM32 images, the boot loader will continue to provide interrupt and BIOS call thunking services as long its memory areas (0x0800-0xffff, 0x100000-0x100fff) are not overwritten. MAKE SURE TO DISABLE INTERRUPTS, AND INSTALL NEW GDT AND IDTS BEFORE OVERWRITING THESE MEMORY AREAS.

The permissible values for DX is an OR of these values:

SYSLINUX: 0000h Normal cleanup PXELINUX: 0000h Normal cleanup 0003h Keep UNDI and PXE stacks loaded ISOLINUX: 0000h Normal cleanup EXTLINUX: 0000h Normal cleanup

All other values are undefined, and may have different meanings in future versions of Syslinux.

Cleanup and replace bootstrap code

AX=000Dh	[2.08] Cleanup and replace bootstrap code Obsoleted in 3.80

Input: AX 000Dh DX derivative-specific flags (see previous function) EDI bootstrap code (linear address, can be in high memory) ECX bootstrap code length in bytes (must fit in low mem) EBX(!) initial value of EDX after bootstrap ESI initial value of ESI after bootstrap DS initial value of DS after bootstrap Output: Does not return

This routine performs final cleanup, then takes a piece of code, copies it over the primary bootstrap at address 7C00h, and jumps to it. This can be used to chainload boot sectors, MBRs, bootstraps, etc.

Normal boot sectors expect DL to contain the drive number, and, for hard drives (DL >= 80h) DS:SI to contain a pointer to the 16-byte partition table entry. The memory between 600h-7FFh is available to put the partition table entry in.

For PXELINUX, if the PXE stack is not unloaded, all registers (except DS, ESI and EDX) and the stack will be set up as they were set up by the PXE ROM.

Get configuration file name

AX=000Eh	[2.11] Get configuration file name

Input: AX 000Eh Output: ES:BX null-terminated file name string

Returns the name of the configuration file. Note that it is possible that the configuration file doesn't actually exist.

Get IPAPPEND strings

AX=000Fh	[3.00] Get IPAPPEND strings [PXELINUX]

Input: AX 000Fh Output: CX number of strings (currently 2) ES:BX pointer to an array of NEAR pointers in the same segment, one for each of the above strings

Returns the same strings that the "ipappend" option would have added to the command line, one for each bit of the "ipappend" flag value, so entry 0 is the "ip=" string and entry 1 is the "BOOTIF=" string.

Resolve hostname

AX=0010h	[3.00] Resolve hostname [PXELINUX]

Input: AX 0010h ES:BX pointer to null-terminated hostname Output: EAX IP address of hostname (zero if not found)

Queries the DNS server(s) for a specific hostname. If the hostname does not contain a dot (.), the local domain name is automatically appended.

This function only returns CF=1 if the function is not supported. If the function is supported, but the hostname did not resolve, it returns with CF=0, EAX=0.

The IP address is returned in network byte order, i.e. if the IP address is 1.2.3.4, EAX will contain 0x04030201. Note that all uses of IP addresses in PXE are also in network byte order.

Maximum number of shuffle descriptors

AX=0011h	[3.05] Maximum number of shuffle descriptors Obsoleted in 3.80

Input: AX 0011h Output: CX maximum number of descriptors

This routine reports the maximum number of shuffle descriptors permitted in a call to functions 0012h, 001Ah and 001Bh.

This is guaranteed to be at least 64. For the current version, this is 682 for all derivatives.

Cleanup, shuffle and boot

AX=0012h	[3.50] Cleanup, shuffle and boot Obsoleted in 3.80

Input: AX 0012h DX derivative-specific flags (see function 000Ch) ES:DI shuffle descriptor list (must be in low memory) CX number of shuffle descriptors EBX(!) initial value of EDX after bootstrap ESI initial value of ESI after bootstrap DS initial value of DS after bootstrap EBP CS:IP of routine to jump to Output: Does not return (if CX is too large the routine returns with CF=1)

This routine performs final cleanup, then performs a sequence of copies, and jumps to a specified real mode entry point. This is a more general version of function 000Dh, which can also be used to load other types of programs.

The copies must not touch memory below address 7C00h.

ES:DI points to a list of CX descriptors each of the form:

Offset Size Meaning 0 dword destination address 4 dword source address 8 dword length in bytes

The copies are overlap-safe, like memmove().

Starting in version 3.50, if the source address is -1 (FFFFFFFFh) then the block specified by the destination address and the length is set to all zero.

Starting in version 3.50, if the destination address is -1 (FFFFFFFFh) then the data block is loaded as a new set of descriptors, and processing is continued (and unprocessed descriptors are lost; this is thus typically only used as the last descriptor in a block). The block must still fit in the internal descriptor buffer (see function 0011h), but can, of course, itself chain another block.

Normal boot sectors expect DL to contain the drive number, and, for hard drives (DL >= 80h) DS:SI to contain a pointer to the 16-byte partition table entry. The memory between 600h-7FFh is available to put the partition table entry in.

For PXELINUX, if the PXE stack is not unloaded, all registers (except DS, ESI and EDX) and the stack will be set up as they were set up by the PXE ROM.

This interface was probably broken before version 3.50.

Idle loop call

AX=0013h	[3.08] Idle loop call

Input: AX 0013h Output: None

Call this routine while sitting in an idle loop. It performs any periodic activities required by the filesystem code. At the moment, this is a no-op on all derivatives except PXELINUX, where it executes PXE calls to answer ARP queries.

Starting with version 3.10, this API call harmlessly returns failure (CF=1) if invoked on a platform which does not need idle calls. Additionally, it's safe to call this API call on previous Syslinux versions (2.00 or later); it will just harmlessly fail. Thus, if this call returns failure (CF=1), it means that there is no technical reason to call this function again, although doing so is of course safe.

Local boot

AX=0014h	[3.10] Local boot [PXELINUX, ISOLINUX]

Input: AX 0014h DX Local boot parameter Output: Does not return

This function invokes the equivalent of the "localboot" configuration file option. The parameter in DX is the same parameter as would be entered after "localboot" in the configuration file; this parameter is derivative-specific -- see syslinux.txt for the definition.

Get feature flags

AX=0015h	[3.10] Get feature flags

Input: AX 0015h Output: ES:BX pointer to flags in memory CX number of flag bytes

This function reports whether or not this Syslinux version and derivative supports specific features. Keep in mind that future versions might have more bits; remember to treat any bits beyond the end of the array (as defined by the value in CX) as zero.

Currently the following feature flag is defined:

Byte Bit Definition ---------------------------------------------------- 0 0 Local boot (AX=0014h) supported 1 Idle loop call (AX=0013h) is a no-op

All other flags are reserved.

Run kernel image

AX=0016h	[3.10] Run kernel image

Input: AX 0016h DS:SI Filename of kernel image (zero-terminated string) ES:BX Command line (zero-terminated string) ECX IPAPPEND flags [PXELINUX] EDX Type of file (since 3.50) Output: Does not return if successful; returns with CF=1 if the kernel image is not found.

This function is similiar to AX=0003h Run command, except that the filename and command line are treated as if specified in a KERNEL and APPEND statements of a LABEL statement, which means:

• The filename has to be exact; no variants are tried;
• No global APPEND statement is applied;
• ALLOWOPTIONS and IMPLICIT statements in the configuration file do not apply. It is therefore important that the COMBOOT module doesn't allow the end user to violate the intent of the administrator.

Additionally, this function returns with a failure if the file doesn't exist, instead of returning to the command line (it may still return to the command line if the image is somehow corrupt, however).

The file types are defined as follows:

EDX	Equivalent		Type of file
	Config (Directive)	(Filename) Extensions
0	KERNEL		Determined by filename extension
1	LINUX	none	Linux kernel image
2	BOOT	.bs .bin	Bootstrap program
3	BSS	.bss	Boot sector with patch [SYSLINUX]
4	PXE	.0	PXE Network Bootstrap Prog [PXELINUX]
5	FDIMAGE	.img	Floppy disk image [ISOLINUX]
6	COMBOOT	.com .cbt	16-bit COMBOOT program
7	COM32	.c32	COM32 program
8	CONFIG		Configuration file

Report video mode change

AX=0017h	[3.30] Report video mode change

Input: AX 0017h BX Video mode flags Bit 0: graphics mode Bit 1: non-default mode Bit 2: VESA mode Bit 3: text functions not supported CX For graphics modes, pixel columns DX For graphics modes, pixel rows Output: None

This function is used to report video mode changes to Syslinux. It does NOT actually change the video mode, but rather, allows Syslinux to take appropriate action in response to a video mode change. Modes that cannot be exited, either with the conventional BIOS mode set command (INT 10h, AH=00h) or the VESA VBE mode set command (INT 10h, AX=4F02h) should not be used.

This function returns with a failure if BX contains any bits which are undefined in the current version of Syslinux.

The following bits in BX are currently defined:

Bit 0: graphics mode

Indicates that the mode is a graphics mode, as opposed to a text mode.

Bit 1: non-standard mode

A non-standard mode is any mode except text mode and graphics mode 0012h (VGA 640x480, 16 color).

Bit 2: VESA mode

This mode is a VESA mode, and has to be exited with the VESA VBE API (INT 10h, AX=4F02h) as opposed to the conventional BIOS API (INT 10h, AH=00h).

Bit 3: Text functions not supported

This indicates that the BIOS text output functions (INT 10h, AH=02h, 03h, 06h, 09h, 0Eh, 11h) don't work. If this bit is set, Syslinux will reset the mode before printing any characters on the screen.

This is common for VESA modes.

Query custom font

AX=0018h	[3.30] Query custom font

Input: AX 0018h Output: AL Height of custom font in scan lines, or zero ES:BX Pointer to custom font in memory

This call queries if a custom display font has been loaded via the "font" configuration file command. If no custom font has been loaded, AL contains zero.

Read disk

AX=0019h	[3.50] Read disk [SYSLINUX, ISOLINUX, EXTLINUX]

Input: AX 0019h EDX Sector number (LSW) ESI Sector number (MSW) [4.00] EDI Reserved - MUST BE ZERO CX Sector count ES:BX Buffer address Output: None

Read disk blocks from the active filesystem (partition); for disks, sector number zero is the boot sector. For ISOLINUX, this call reads the CD-ROM.

For compatibility with all systems, the buffer should neither cross 64K boundaries, nor wrap around the segment.

This routine reports "boot failed" (and does not return) on disk error.

Note: for ISOLINUX in hybrid mode, this call uses simulated 2048-byte CD-ROM sector numbers.

Cleanup, shuffle and boot to flat protected mode

AX=001Ah	[3.50] Cleanup, shuffle and boot to flat protected mode Obsoleted in 3.80

Input: AX 001Ah DX derivative-specific flags (see function 000Ch) ES:DI shuffle descriptor list (must be in low memory) CX number of shuffle descriptors DS:SI pointer to register values (must be in low memory) Output: Does not return (if CX is too large the routine returns with CF=1)

This routine performs final cleanup, then performs a sequence of copies, and jumps to a specified protected mode entry point. This is otherwise similar to function 0012h; see that function for the meaning of ES:DI and CX.

DS:SI points to the initial register file, which is a structure of 9 dwords (available in <syslinux/bootpm.h>):

struct syslinux_pm_regs {
  uint32_t eax;                 /* Offset  0 */
  uint32_t ecx;                 /* Offset  4 */
  uint32_t edx;                 /* Offset  8 */
  uint32_t ebx;                 /* Offset 12 */
  uint32_t esp;                 /* Offset 16 */
  uint32_t ebp;                 /* Offset 20 */
  uint32_t esi;                 /* Offset 24 */
  uint32_t edi;                 /* Offset 28 */

  uint32_t eip;                 /* Offset 32 */
};

Protected mode is entered with all data segments set up as a flat 32-bit read/write segment and the code segment a flat 32-bit read/execute segment. Interrupts and paging is off, CPL=0, DF=0; however, GDT, LDT and IDT are undefined, so it is up to the invoked code to set new descriptor tables to its liking.

Cleanup, shuffle and boot to real mode

AX=001Bh	[3.50] Cleanup, shuffle and boot to real mode Obsoleted in 3.80

Input: AX 001Bh DX derivative-specific flags (see function 000Ch) ES:DI shuffle descriptor list (must be in low memory) CX number of shuffle descriptors DS:SI pointer to register values (must be in low memory) Output: Does not return (if CX is too large the routine returns with CF=1)

This routine performs final cleanup, then performs a sequence of copies, and jumps to a specified entry point. This is similar to function 0012h but allows more control over the initial register state; see that function for the meaning of ES:DI and CX.

DS:SI points to the initial register file, which is a structure in the following format (available in <syslinux/bootrm.h>; note that this is a completely different structure from the com32sys_t structure described at the top of this document!):

struct syslinux_rm_regs {
  uint16_t es;                  /* Offset  0 */
  uint16_t _unused_cs;          /* Offset  2 */
  uint16_t ds;                  /* Offset  4 */
  uint16_t ss;                  /* Offset  6 */
  uint16_t fs;                  /* Offset  8 */
  uint16_t gs;                  /* Offset 10 */

  reg32_t eax;                  /* Offset 12 */
  reg32_t ecx;                  /* Offset 16 */
  reg32_t edx;                  /* Offset 20 */
  reg32_t ebx;                  /* Offset 24 */
  reg32_t esp;                  /* Offset 28 */
  reg32_t ebp;                  /* Offset 32 */
  reg32_t esi;                  /* Offset 36 */
  reg32_t edi;                  /* Offset 40 */

  uint16_t ip;                  /* Offset 44 */
  uint16_t cs;                  /* Offset 46 */
};

Interrupts are off and DF=0 on entry.

Get pointer to auxilliary data vector

AX=001Ch	[3.60] Get pointer to auxilliary data vector

Input: AX 001Ch Output: ES:BX Auxilliary data vector CX Size of the ADV (currently 500 bytes)

The auxillary data vector is a tagged data structure used to carry a small amount of information (up to 500 bytes) from one boot to another.

Write auxilliary data vector

AX=001Dh	[3.60] Write auxilliary data vector

Input: AX 001Dh Output: None

Write the auxilliary data vector back to disk. Returns failure for non-disk-based derivatives unless the "auxdata" configuration command is used to specify a disk location (not yet implemented.)

In a future version, PXELINUX may end up attempting to save the ADV on the server via TFTP write.

Keyboard remapping table

AX=001Eh	[3.74] Keyboard remapping table

Input: AX 001Eh DX 0000h - all other values reserved Output: AX format version (1) CX length in bytes (256) ES:BX pointer to keyboard table

This call queries the keyboard remapping table. For the current version, the format code is always 1 and the length is always 256. This version can be updated simply by overwriting the version in memory; this may not be true in the future.

Get current working directory

AX=001Fh	[3.74] Get current working directory

Input: AX 001Fh Output: ES:BX null-terminated directory name string

Returns the current working directory.

Open directory

AX=0020h	[3.74] Open directory Obsoleted in 4.00

Input: AX 0020h ES:SI /-null-terminated directory name Output: SI directory handle EAX clobbered

Open a directory for reading. Directory name must have a trailing "/" before the null (otherwise, you're looking for a file)(This may change as this is a BETA call).

This function provided opendir functionality in the late 3.xx series. It has been replaced by the protected-mode interface.

Read directory

AX=0021h	[3.74] Read directory Obsoleted in 4.00

Input: AX 0021h SI directory handle ES:DI buffer for file name Output: DL Type of file SI directory handle, or 0 if end of directory was reached EAX Size of file EBX Inode of file

Read one filename from the directory, incrementing the directory structure at SI as appropriate, storing the filename into the buffer at ES:DI, and returning the type of the file in DL, the file length in EAX, the inode/file number in EBX and the updated directory handle.

This function provided readdir functionality in the late 3.xx series. It has been replaced by the protected-mode interface.

Close directory

AX=0022h	[3.74] Close directory Obsoleted in 4.00

Input: AX 0022h SI directory handle Output: SI 0

Closes a directory.

This function provided closedir functionality in the late 3.xx series. It has been replaced by the protected-mode interface.

Get shuffler parameters

AX=0023h	[3.80] Get shuffler parameters

Input: AX 0023h Output: CX size of shuffler "safe area" in bytes Other registers reserved for future use

This call gives the size of the required shuffler "safe area", in bytes; for call 0024h. In the future, it may provide additional parameters.

Cleanup, shuffle and boot, raw version

AX=0024h	[3.80] Cleanup, shuffle and boot, raw version

Input: AX 0024h DX derivative-specific flags (see function 000Ch) EDI shuffle descriptor list safe area ESI shuffle descriptor list source ECX byte count of shuffle descriptor list Output: Does not return

This routine performs final cleanup, then performs a sequence of copies, and jumps to a specified real mode entry point. This is a more general version of function 000Dh, which can also be used to load other types of programs.

Unlike previous obsolete versions of this function, there are no restrictions that copies must not touch memory below address 7C00h. Either the shuffle descriptor list or the safe area (or both) may be located in high memory.

ESI points to a list of descriptors each of the form:

Offset Size Meaning 0 dword destination address 4 dword source address (-1 = zero) 8 dword length in bytes (0 = end of list)

The copies are overlap-safe, like memmove().

Before actually executing the move list, the list is moved to the address specified in EDI. The caller is responsible to ensure that the moved descriptor list plus a "safe area" immediately afterwards (the size of which is specified by function 0023h) is not disturbed by the copy sequence. It is, however, safe to overwrite descriptors already consumed.

If the source address is -1 (FFFFFFFFh) then the block specified by the destination address and the length is set to all zero.

The list is terminated by an entry with length 0. For that entry, the destination is used as an entry point, and the source represents the type of entry point:

0 16-bit protected mode (dst is CS.base) 1 Flat 32-bit protected mode (dst is EIP)

This routine does not set up any GPR register state whatsoever, including stack. It is the responsibility of the caller to make sure the entry point provided sets up any registers needed.

For mode 0 (16-bit real mode), EAX will contain CR0 with bit 0 masked out, suitable for loading into CR0 to immediately enter real mode. Note: if real-mode entry is planned, (CS.base & 0xfff0000f) should == 0 for compatibility with KVM, and possibly other virtualization solutions.

In both mode 0 and mode 1, the data segments will be loaded with read/write data segments, matching the respective code segment. For mode 0, B=0 and the limits will be 64K; for mode 1, B=1 and the limits will be 4 GB.

32-BIT ONLY API calls

void *cs_pm->lmalloc(size_t bytes)

Allocate a buffer in low memory (below 1 MB).

void cs_pm->lfree(void *ptr)

Free a buffer allocated with cs_pm->lmalloc().

DIR *cs_pm->opendir(const char *pathname)

Open a directory.

struct dirent *cs_pm->readdir(DIR *dir)

Read an entry from a directory. The entry is returned in a static buffer.

int cs_pm->closedir(DIR *dir)

Close a directory.